Emily Nussbaum‘s latest NY Mag piece definitively declares the upcoming Fall TV slate to be the season of “The She-Runner”. A new ruling class of female Show runners, writers and actresses, spreading the big, bad female agenda on TV’s nation-wide. Rawr.

this seems appropriate here

Nussbaum writes that all of the Major Networks’ new comedy pilots are, mostly, helmed by females and star a fresh sort of female lead. They each, in one way or another, present a more “hard-edged” woman. Gone are the days of the dough-eyed dork (although the sole exception, and Nussbaum acknowledges it, is New Girlsand happens to star just that in its’ lead Zooey Deschanel). What’s “exciting” is how this crop breaks free from former wimpy female leads of the past and instead depicts a grittier breed. Here we have the modern woman. More willing to declare her opinion. Move over Betty Draper, it’s Peggy-on-steroids time.

And my reaction? Meh.

It’s definitely refreshing to have more women on the screen and to have them in starring roles. But, have you watched the trailers for these shows? I mean, really? Uh-Oh. Yikes!

But, I’ll probably give them all a chance. I’m a fan of a lot of these female writers. Especially, New Girl scribe, Liz Meriwether. I also highly recommend Molly Mclear’s blog (she’s joined the writing room for 2 Broke Girls). I’m just really hoping these trailers are the worst of what’s to come and that we can expect more than these one-note, “unconventional” female leads.

Arrested Development ruined me. Since that show was prematurely ripped from the airwaves, I’ve started to assume that every show with a dash of creativity and quirk won’t make it very far, especially on network TV (See: Better off Ted, Pushing Daisies, Worst Week). Nothing gold can stay, and if it’s really gold, it will be gone way before its time.

Mr. Sunshine is a living, breathing example of this. But I hope I’m wrong this time.

Haven’t heard about this little gem? It’s a surprisingly good single-camera comedy about a 40-year-old guy (think Will in About A Boy) who’s in charge of operations at a medium sized catch-all arena in San Diego (think Circuses, Motocross, semi-pro hockey).

It’s not too smart for the room but it doesn’t need a laugh track and prop gags to keep it going (I’m looking at you Two & A Half Men). The tone reminded me a bit of Scrubs but without the voiceovers and some of the schlock. It’s packing some serious star power with leads Matthew Perry and Allison Janney and it’s got a premise that could effectively run forever. Plus the writing is sharp, and particularly irreverent. *Yep, that’s a quote from the pilot.

Ratings wise, the show got some help from a Modern Family lead in last night so hopefully people will make a habit of sticking around.

Catch it now before you’re watching it on Netflix, sobbing and asking, “WHY VIEWING PUBLIC? WHY?”

Next chance to watch: Wednesday, February 16 9:30/8:30C And while you’re at it, go Hulu the pilot.

Brothers & Sisters – All That Wine – A Small Business Going Under – Dead Father With Secrets + Law & Order – This Sound – Lawyers Making Long Boring Speeches + A Grandpa + A Dead Brother With Secrets + Tom Selleck =

Blue Bloods.

They took out the shitty parts of both shows and smashed the good stuff together. Bravo CBS! I don’t know why none of the other networks figured this out. People love adult siblings and cop shows. Shove them together, throw in a few Sunday dinners and you have a winner.

I really hope another network follows CBS’ lead and does a mash-up of Glee and Grey’s Anatomy. What this country lacks is auto-tuned physicians.

Remember seafood Brian from Top Chef? He was easy on the eyes and constantly reminded everyone that fish was his thing? His wife had twins! Bigger news? He named the girl twin Sailor. Classy or Trashy? You can make the call on that one.

In an attempt to save Lone Star, the TV addict whipped up this handy guide for where to find shows online, thus freeing up your TV. It didn’t save Lone Star, but the guide’s still useful.

There’s an upcoming episode of The Office where the entire cast is watching Glee…because they don’t have enough hype. I wish they’d sit around and watch Friday Night Lights.

My Favorite Non-TV Related Link Of The Week: I’ve been listening to StoryCorps at work all week. The stories are so authentic and interesting. A few months ago, they released animated versions of a few stories, probably with the sole purpose of making me cry at my desk.

So unlike ediddy, I’m actually really sad My Generation got cancelled. It wasn’t the best show on television, but I applaud them for having youngish characters who actually lead young-ish lives and live in apartments/houses that look appropriate for someone 28. They made great use of that format too. Anyway, I’ve had the weekend to get over it, and I also had the weekend to watch the pilot of No Ordinary Family.

No Ordinary Family is basically a live-action version of The Incredibles. The Powell family goes on a trip to Brazil. While on a sightseeing tour of the Amazon, their small plane crashes, and the mystical powers of the water they land in give them all superpowers. (Dad: Catches bullets, jumps really high, strong; Mom: Runs fast; Daughter: Telepathy; Son: Super Genius)

This show could have rested on its laurels and stayed pretty one dimensional. A family with super powers?! That should be enough right? Instead they layered in a little family drama to take it from being kind of a pedestrian show to being a bit more meaty.

Dad, Jim Powell (played by an adorably doughy Michael Chiklis) feels like his family is living in different worlds, under the same roof. His research scientist wife, (Julie Benz, from Dexter ) is a super important research-scientist who usually finds herself out of the house, doing science-y things. His teenage kids are dealing with problems on their own, from pressures to have sex to learning disabilities. He thought the trip to Brazil would bring them closer, and while the plane crash sort of did it, the super powers will probably seal the deal.

The good thing about the pilot episode is that it got a lot done. We met the family, found out they had problems, saw them go to Brazil, get in a plane crash, come home, figure out they all had powers, Jim Powell (who works as a police sketch artist) tried to use his powers to stop crimes, Mama Powell found out and made him promise not to do it again, at first the daughter didn’t want her power, the son didn’t think he had one, then he figured it out, then the whole family played football together, which is all Papa Powell really wanted in the first place. And scene. Whew, just writing it makes me tired. That’s a lot of action for an hour. Now that all that basic stuff is out of the way, it opens up the show to dive in to a lot of stuff. The pilot episode eluded to the fact that there may be more superheroes out there. Ooooh intrigue.

Oh and did I mention Papa Powell has a sassy Black friend, just like Mr. Incredible? Romany Malco (Conrad from Weeds) plays a twice divorced attorney who builds Papa Powell a secret crimefighting lair (Sorry Mama Powell). I think Malco has awesome comedy chops, so hopefully he’ll be put to use on this show.

This review is kind of all over the place. I recognize that. Thanks for bearing with me. Bottom line: This show is worth the watch! If you missed the pilot, watch it online. It’s a little something different than the traditional cop, hospital, lawyer, family drama. And that breath of fresh air is what TV lineups everywhere could use.

Why am I not a celebrity? Did you know Shawn Johnson could earn over $350K for being on dancing with the stars?

And finally, my favorite non-TV related link of the week: STFU Marrieds To all of my engaged friends (and god there are a lot of you these days) I will not hesitate to call you out on this website. You’ve been warned.

Also, since I’m tired and this made me smile today, here’s a special non-TV related treat.